His Wife (A Contract Marriage Story) by Heer Mangtani

Chapter 73

GABRIEL

Several. Months. Ago.

I froze when I read the caller ID displayed on my ringing phone Lily Grant.

Her ID had been Lily with a st*pid emoji that she’d set all those years aback until six months ago, when I shifted it back to her full name the day I had broken up with her, the day I had told her I was marrying a girl my grandparents chose for me, the day she asked me to choose between her and my work and I chose my work, the day she cried in my arms and I told her maybe if she could wait for me for a few months, I would return to her. Just maybe,

me.

She hadn’t answered, just walked out on n

She never called after that.

I had forgotten that the six month contract marriage I had signed myself into was ending when Sophia’s grandfather passed away, and she was so consumed in her grief, and me, in her. She didn’t give me too much of her, but whatever she gave, I obsessively accepted, whether it was the ghost of a smile on her perfect lips, or her longing gaze in her very broken eyes. I held her, because I knew that her longing was for me, her smiles were for me, and anything in between, anything that Sophia gave me, was only for me.

Sophia was my kryptonite. She entered my life unwanted, and unknowingly crept closer until I gave her space. I was bewitched by her. Her mind, her body, her soul.

I was never a jealous man, but for her… Oh, for her, I would kill.

When she was with me, when I was with her, the rest of the world didn’t exist. And seeing Lily’s name on my phone was this reality check that the six months I had signed myself to Sophia for were ending, and there was a world outside that, a world that I fully intended on ignoring.

Lost in my very thoughts, I didn’t realise when the phone stopped ringing, and then rang again. I picked it up at lightning’s speed catching Sophia’s eyes on it from the other side of the bed and a pang of guilt hit me as I pressed the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Gabriel.” The voice on the other end wasn’t Lily’s at all. It was my grandfather’s. He had left just the day before because if 1 was here, someone had to be at the office to head meetings. There was only so much time that we could both take off together, so despite his best friend’s body barely being cold in his grave, he returned to the city, leaving me here for a few more days with Sophia. Before I could reply at all, he said, “It’s Alister. Can you hear me?”

My eyebrows knit in confusion. “Hm?”

“Good. Is Sophia with you?”

“Yes.” I half look back at the girl covering herself more in the blanket, her face suddenly void of any colour.

“Okay. I know I asked you to stay with your wife for a few days longer, but I need you to come here.”

I reply, my voice

he sighs, groans, almost. “It’s an emergency. I need you to

than earlier. This old man was nuts he thought I was leaving Sophia alone. Why was he calling from Lily’s number

come here. One thing about Alister Whitlock is that he never shows affection. Another thing is that he demands, and the world just follows any way. I learnt it

something. Perhaps Jim’s death had affected him more than he

she barely slept or ate, and she’d been through so much. And through it all, her constant worry had

anything to Leila or Sophia,

“Okay,” Lagreed.

“You’re understanding, right, son

as annoyed as I sounded when I

like she would cry any moment,

work, Freckles Work emergency. Same one that Alister left with.” I told

you have to

taking in her scent before I kissed her forehead. I wanted to do anything but leave her like this, and I hated that I had to go “I will double the security, make sure you’re safe every hour, okay? You won’t be alone for even a minute, not even here. I’ll see you

her hand once again before pulling it away and the ghost of her touch stings,

I went straight to work, heading to my Grandfather’s office. I entered his office without

this a few years ago, but now I didn’t have the patience to

came fast. Good. He nonchalantly got up from his

even at seventy, was nothing if not put together till his last grey hair strand, a quality he worked years to cultivate into me

try to not grit my teeth when I

your best friend to cancer does that

My eyebrows knit. “Lake?”

blood in

day, really. I planned on getting back to Sophia and although I

You know stools

pag. “You

so. But, my overthinking got me to get tested

My mouth opens and closes. Nothing

at a decent time, and I don’t really need to

I begin,

He rolls his eyes, “We’re on first name basis most days, and that’s just fine. I don’t need you to call me a cute name to

sorry.” My lack of words

even to me.